"Elle? Time to wake up," Kay called as cradled her against his body. It was late afternoon and she had been sleeping most of the day. He really needed to try to get her to eat something to keep her strength up.
"Kay? Elle murmured as she opened her eyes. She felt so tired. "It's so hot," her eyelids slipped shut again as she talked. She didn't have the energy to keep them open.
"I know you're hot." Kay said as he gently stroked her forehead. Her temperature had been slowly rising as she slept. "You need to eat now, though. Then when you're done, I'll do something about your fever."
Elle weakly nodded in response but didn't open her eyes again as Kay started to spoon the soup Jay had brought in into her. Nice rich chicken noodle soup. Maybe it would give her a little energy anyway. Elle didn't really want to eat the food. She was so hot and tired, making every bite that Kay got into her a struggle. When he had finally fed her the bowlful, he checked her temperature again. 101. Not good.
"Here," Jay said as he came in with a bowl of water and some small towels. He dipped one of the towels into the water and carefully wiped Elle's face off with it before arranging it on her forehead. "Maybe this will make you feel a little better."
Kay carefully eased the top of Elle's nightshirt down while his partner was wiping her face. He removed the bandage, carefully checking the burn. It was definately infected. He quickly cleaned it and put medicine on it again before rebandaging it. Then he went over to the first aid kit and started looking for something. A moment later, he returned with a small bottle of pills.
"Elle? Open your eyes for just a minute," he called.
"Sleepy," she murmured as her eyelids fluttered open for a second and then started to slip shut.
"I know you're sleepy. You have a fever. It's making you very tired right now," Kay said as he reached out and took her hand. "I need you to tell me something, though. I think it may be a good idea to give you some of the broad spectrum antibiotics from the first aid kit. Do you think they might help?"
"Maybe," Elle whispered. "Don't leave me."
"I'm not going anywhere. Here. Swallow," Kay said as he raised her head and shoulders so she could take a sip of water before swallowing several of the pills. Once she had taken them, her eyes slid closed again and she drifted back to sleep.
"Slick, go and get some more of that water and see if you can get some ice started. We're going to have to try to keep her cool until those antibiotics can start to work," Kay said as he dipped another towel in the water and started to run it over Elle's arms and throat.